After the Boks levelled the series in Cape Town, Rennie's post-match breakdown is worth reading for what it reveals about New Zealand's tactical approach going into the Johannesburg decider. The lineout is the headline concern — three losses in key areas, with Etzebeth's aerial presence forcing mid-game adjustments to their throw variations. But Rennie frames the broader problem as ball-speed: the Boks' defensive wall and breakdown discipline consistently slowed New Zealand's continuity game, and referee Angus Gardner's breakdown management compounded it. On the kicking game, Rennie is unapologetic — he sees it as a calculated trade-off that created the wide space New Zealand exploited for their four tries, and he'll lean on it again at FNB. The seven-point margin, despite the territory and possession pressure South Africa applied, appears to be giving Rennie genuine confidence that small corrections could swing the decider.
Rennie's third-Test fixes: lineout, slow starts, and cracking the Bok kicking game
Rennie pinpoints lineout losses to Etzebeth's disruption, slow starts inside their own 22, and ball-speed as the key fixes before Johannesburg — while defending the kicking strategy that opened space for New Zealand's four tries in Cape Town.
- Springboks
- New Zealand
- Eben Etzebeth
- FNB Stadium
Boks remain top but All Blacks close gap to 2.90 points after Nations Championship opener
South Africa stay top of the World Rugby Men's Rankings at 93.94 points but New Zealand have cut the gap to 2.90 after beating France, while Scotland climb to equal their all-time high of fifth following a record 47-38 win over Argentina in Córdoba.
Hansen's Right to Back Himself — But the Boks' Five-Match Streak Tells a Different Story
Jean de Villiers acknowledges Hansen's logic but argues last year's results and performances make it hard to see the All Blacks closing the gap on the Boks — and the panel get genuinely animated over what a 2-2 series tiebreaker would even look like.
Keo & Zels: Stubborn All Blacks policy make Boks smile
The boys love that New Zealand keep picking their second-best, long may it continue.
All Blacks' loosehead crisis hands Springboks a ready-made weapon in Greatest Rivalry Series
Jeff Wilson has publicly identified loosehead prop as the All Blacks' most dangerous weakness ahead of four consecutive Tests against the Springboks — with Williams likely out, Tu'ungafasi's future uncertain, and the remaining options short on caps and experience. Set against the depth Erasmus has built across the prop positions, this piece maps out why scrum time could be where the Greatest Rivalry Series is decided.
Stephen Donald: Robertson copied the Boks — Rennie must go back to All Blacks DNA
Stephen Donald backs Hansen's anti-copycat argument, saying Robertson erred by chasing the Springbok blueprint rather than New Zealand's tempo-based strengths — and expects Rennie to correct that course ahead of a blockbuster four-Test series in South Africa.